Feb 20--Putting ourselves out there

We saw a lot of miracles this week! We have committed to be more engaged in finding by doing things we don't normally do - go into stores, go door to door with surveys, go English class streetboarding, and other things. We have seen so much more success this week, and have found two more investigators. An interesting and difficult part of this week is that those investigators are people who are in a very rough part of life right now, and are stuck in very bad addictions. We have been studying and praying for ways to help them with that. 

This week has been a testimony builder as we have worked harder, opened our mouths, and invited people to learn more about Jesus Christ. A scripture in 1 Nephi 17 has had a great impact on me this week: 

And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.

The phrase "ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led" seems, to me, to be one of the greatest blessings. As we seek to build our faith in the Savior, he will help us. We may at times be prone to think that success comes because of our own skill or ability, but this week we have seen the Lord preparing a way for us, when we just do all we can. 

I hope you all have a great week. We have Elder Holland this week, so we are getting hearts and minds ready for that.

Today we went to a mountain with a big face on it.

Me and Elder Horne

Elder Horne

From a distance

greater distance

greatest distance

Feb 12 Busy week

Feb 12

Last week was a little crazy! Every transfer now we have a zone conference (President Sonksen and the AP's train) in addition to zone training (the zone leaders train). Being in Gangwon Province, where all the districts are hours from each other, to be effective we did both on the same day. It was a little tiring, but super spiritual. 

Coming back from Gangnung after zone meetings, me and Elder Horne decided to eat dinner at the terminal as we were waiting for our bus back to Wonju. We went to a restaurant we had been to before, and knew the lady that worked there. What happened teaches a really cool thing about Korean culture. We talked with her a bunch and shared more about what we do as missionaries, and asked if she had read the pamphlet we gave her last time. We were the only customers at the time, so we talked a whole bunch. Then, she got up and started peeling a Korean pear (SO delicous), then sliced it up and set it on our trays for us, free of charge. Then, when we go to pay for our meals, she doesn't take the money and  just tells us to have a safe trip. That's one of the things I love about Korea - this kind of thing happens all the time! 

We are going hard on finding right now. I'm really glad to be working with Elder Horne, because he is so focused and has lots of desire to bring others unto Christ. And, quite honestly, he is probably going to be better at Korean than me in a couple weeks here. He has already studied French and Arab, and is otherwise just crazy smart. He skipped a year of high school and went to BYU at age 16. Don't tell him I said that, though!

안녕히 계세요! 

The sacrament and the heart

Feb 5

Gyuheong is doing so well! He is reading, praying, coming to church, and seeking so earnestly. He especially is very desirous to feel the Holy Ghost and to receive those feelings that we have taught about. We are so excited for him! But, he is leaving today to go to Seoul until he goes back to college, so it'll be other missionaries teaching him from here on out. 

There is so much that I learned this week, I don't know where to begin or start. Maybe the most prominent thought I had was about the heart and the sacrament. As I've been asking the Lord what I can do better, I've found that often the answer is nothing new. In fact, sometimes it is more like the chastening described in Hebrews 12:5-11. On my exchange with the zone leader last transfer, he made the principle really clear. Repentance is change of heart. This kind of change is not comfortable. If fact, it is often painful. Thus, giving chastening or correction it giving that kind of pain - not out of malice or anger, but out of love and an understanding that this pain is necessary for growth. Elder Christofferson taught that we should even ask for this in April of 2011 - "Let us pray for His love-inspired correction." 

I am so grateful for the correction of the Lord! It allows us to repent and more fully have his presence with us through partaking of the Sacrament. It prompts us to search our hearts and to give our hearts to him and to soften them. 

Have a great week everyone!

​Last p-day we went to a member's house and made Mandu. It was delicious! 

Schedule changes

Jan 29, 2017

The missionary worldwide broadcast was incredible! I learned so much I can't explain it all here. For one, Elder Bednar prayed to start, which was something I realized I'd never seen before. The theme, like last year, was "teach repentance and baptize converts," and I realized, most of all, the great significance of what that means. God's work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, which was enabled by His Son and His Atonement. By helping others to repent and be baptized, we are doing the will of God, because the gospel of Christ is the process by which we receive remission of sins and are born again by the water and the Spirit. This enables us to return to Him in His Kingdom. The divine power and authority in the steps and ordinances of Christ's gospel are what brings this about. I was humbled by this. I cannot cleanse someone from sin, nor can I fill their heart with that purifying power that changes it forever. But these things are real, and they come from Christ. 

Besides that, we did deep cleaning on Saturday (all missionaries do this on Lunar New Year's Day). For lunch, we ate Ddeokuk, which is a tradition to eat on Lunar New Year's Day in Korea. The tradition is that eating this makes you a year older, so now, in Korean age, I am 22! 

New year - I didn't see any special celebrations or dragons or anything, but we also spent the entire day inside cleaning. But, the house is super clean now. Here's some pictures of Seoul from the bus: 

​The district going back to Wonju, from left to right, back to front - Elder Steward and Ku, Sister Lee and Lynn, and me and Elder Horne

​The Han river. The big tower in Lotte Tower.